Doncaster Rovers: Dickov keen to overhaul player recruitment

Wheatley-born Spurs ace Danny Rose is an example of a talented youngster on whom Rovers missed out

Paul Goodwin

Published:05:59Thursday 26 February 2015

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Paul Dickov has revealed plans to overhaul player recruitment at Doncaster Rovers.

The Scot effectively wants to create a new scouting department and also appoint a chief scout as part of plans to tap into more talent at a local level.

Dickov hopes his proposed new structure - which he says received a positive response from Rovers’ board at a meeting earlier this month - will ultimately see more Doncaster youngsters choose Rovers rather than joining rival clubs.

“We’re trying to get something in place that’s going to give us a real chance in the future,” said Dickov.

“It’s not just about making new signings [for the first team] and getting a scouting network going.

“First and foremost we want to bring our own kids through here - and the recruitment side of that is important as well.

“We want to make sure we’ve got a real structure moving forward, and the board welcomed our proposal when we put it to them.

“We’re not just talking about this summer,” he added.

“We’re looking two, three, five years down the line so that, whatever happens, there is something in place that has a bit of continuity to it.”

Asked to explain the current scouting structure at the club, Dickov joked: “At present, it’s me, myself and I.

“No, seriously, it’s myself and my staff.

“Friends of mine will go and scout the opposition for us and do things like that.

“A lot of the time myself, Brian Horton, Paul Butler and Paul Gerrard are out watching games.

“I know people think we go home in an afternoon and have a cup of tea and put our feet up, but we’re out watching games.

“But we want to get something in place where we do have a chief scout and people working underneath them, so we have people out there watching games and players at all levels.”

Tottenham Hotspur and England star Danny Rose, Leeds United pair Alex Mowatt and Alex Cairns, as well as highly-rated Barnsley youngster Mason Holgate are all examples of Doncaster lads who went elsewhere for their football education.

And it is a problem that Dickov is keen to address. For starters, he hopes to send more scouts to games in the Doncaster and District Junior Sunday League, one of the biggest leagues of its kind in the country.

“It’s something we want to start doing,” said Rovers’ boss.

“I’ve said before, many a time, there’s too many kids in Doncaster that tend to go to other clubs.

“It’s something I feel passionate about.

“I don’t see, when we’ve got the facilities and the infra-structure here, why they should be going anywhere else. They should be coming here.”